The Land of Murder, Cannibalism, and All Kinds of Atrocious Crimes? : an Overview of 'Maori Crime' from Pre-Colonial Times to the Present Day.

Abstract

This thesis collates a host of accounts, theories and quantitative data touching upon the topic of crime among Maori. The 'Maori crime rate' is shown to be poorly characterised by official figures, which are probably overestimates inflated further by racism among criminal justice officials and differential access to justice. Nonetheless, these factors are insufficient to explain the over-representation of Maori in the criminal justice system. Special mention is made of crime among Maori women, a topic that has received virtually no attention previously. World War II (WMII) is shown to have had a lasting impact on Maori women's crime rates, and the active role played by Maori women in the process of de-colonisation may also have contributed significantly to their arrest and imprisonment in the 1970s and '80s. The stereotype of the 'strong Maori woman' clashes with the expectations of Pakeha and of Maori men, potentially affecting the interactions of Maori women with the criminal justice system. Further, the image may encourage offending by Maori women by promoting aggressive and delinquent behaviour. It is shown that pre-colonial juristic practices cannot be satisfactorily determined in the present day, and subsequently that cultural conditioning by the distant past is not a plausible explanation for 'Maori crime'. Instead, criminalisation of Maori resistance to colonisation, and literal normlessness, dominated Maori offending profiles throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the period leading up to and immediately following WWII, anomie, socioeconomic deprivation and community instability became important in the etiology of Maori offending. Once Maori became visible in the urban setting, their presence evoked a new response from the criminal justice system. Inadequate support for Maori suspects during court proceedings increased their likelihood of conviction. Once convicted, the chances of reappearing before the courts at a later date increased. And so the cycle began, exacerbated by mis-interpretation of official statistics. Thus one of the combined effects of urbanisation and the Maori renaissance has been the racialisation of offending; the creation of 'the Maori criminal'. Since the 1960s, offending by Maori has been exacerbated by the process of de-colonisation or, more accurately, the impetus to offend that has arisen out of it. A move toward behavioural science and risk assessment approaches is advocated as a first step toward reducing 'Maori crime'. Other suggested measures include prioritising the needs of Maori women offenders and capitalising on existing knowledge.